Portable shipping container



Feb. 8, 1966 s. RICH 3,233,753

PORTABLE SHIPPING CONTAINER Filed Jan. 25, 1963 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR TIL BY SAMUEL RICH 4211!,

Feb. 8, 1966 s. RICH 3,233,753

PORTABLE SHIPPING CONTAINER Filed Jan. 25, 1963 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 w INVENTOR. \+Ml W, BY SAMUEL emu,

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ATTQR/VEKS Feb; 8, 1966 s. RICH 3,233,753

PORTABLE SHIPPING CONTAINER Filed Jan. 25, 1963 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR SAMUEL RICH BY Ml, I,"

United States Patent 3,233,753 PGRTABLE SHIPPING CONTAINER Samuel Rich, Oak Park, Mich., assignor to Acorn Aluminum Products Company Inc., Warren, Mich. Filed Jan. 23, 1963, Ser. No. 253,334 4 Claims. (Cl. 214-10.5)

This invention relates to a portable shipping container for transporting sheets of glass.

An object of this invention is to provide a reusable, portable, shipping container for large sheets of glass, which container is additionally useful as a manually movable vehicle to move and store the sheets of glass packed therein.

A further object of this invention is to provide a compact container which is adapted to support a large quantity of flat sheets of glass, standing on edge, in face to face relationship, within two separate container sections, and having rollers, upon which the container may be rolled, and means for removably fastening the container upon a wood truck or railroad car platform.

These and other objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent upon reading the following description, of which the attached drawings form a part.

In these drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the container.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view looking down into the container, but with the front panels removed.

FIG. 3 is a front elevational view of the container, and

FIG. 4 is an end view taken in the direction of arrows 4-4 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary, enlarged view of a portion of the container, taken as if in the direction of arrows 55 of FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a perspective, fragmentary view of a portion of the container and an unlocking and transporting tool used therewith.

FIG. 7 is an elevational view of the container lower portion, showing the container moved by the tool.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the support base and framework.

The container 10 is built upon a bottom frame 11 (see FIG. 8) which consists of horizontally arranged side rails 12 and end rails 13 and 13a joined together at their ends to form a rigid frame. A number of cross-slats 14 are arranged transversely of the frame and secured to the side rails 12 and upon the slats are secured wedge-shaped blocks 15.

Conventional support rollers 16 are secured to the frame near the end frame rail 13a and vertical support posts 17 are secured to the frame near the end rail 13, the posts terminating in horizontally arranged plates or pads 18 having nail holes 19 formed therethrough.

A horizontally extending, centrally located tongue 20, having a central hole 21, is formed on the end rail 13.

Secured to each of the end rails is a vertically arranged A-frarne 23 formed of a pair of legs 24 joined together at their upper ends where a hook 25 is secured as by welding, and having a cross-bar 26 which extend beyond the legs 24. The apices of each of these A-frames are joined together by a cross-strip 27 to form a rigid unit. In addition, a pair of outwardly extending arms 18, preferably formed of angle iron, is secured near the upper ends of each of the A-frames with the arms terminating in vertically arranged pads 29 which are arranged in the same vertical planes as are the side rails 12.

The horizontal frame 11, the A-frames, and the arms 28 and cross-strip 27 may all be formed of metal sections which are welded together to form a rigid skeleton for the container.

The container is formed with two separate, oppositely opening sections, arranged back to back, with each section having a back wall 30 whose side edges are secured to the A-frame legs 24 and whose lower edge is rested upon the slats 14 so that the back panels tilt away from the vertical and upwardly toward each other. Each section also has a horizontally extending floor 31 fastened to the wedge shaped blocks 15 so that the floors tilt downwardly towards their respective back panels at right angles thereto. Vertical end walls 32 are arranged at the ends of the floors and are fastened to the arms 28, the cross-bars 26 and the framework end rails 13 and 13a. Preferably, the back panels, floors, and end panels are all formed out of wood.

In use, large sheets of glass 35 having conventional, protective edge bindings 36 formed of cardboard or packing material are rested upon the floors 31 and tilted back against the back panel 30. Thus, the glass sheets are supported on their lower edges and are confined between the side panels 32. Since the sheets tilt backwardly, they can be left within the container without falling out while the container is stationary.

To hold the group of glass sheets 35 within the container sections while transporting the container, each container section is provided with a front, removable panel 37, preferably in the form of a large sheet of plywood or the like which is provided at its lower edge with downwardly extending pins 33 arranged to seat into holes 39 formed in the floor 31. The holes 39 are arranged in two rows so that the panel may be selectively located closer to or farther away from the back panels 30, depending upon the number of glass sheets within the container to thus tightly compress against the sheets. Secured to the upper horizontal edges of each of the front panels 39 are cross-bars 443 preferably formed of right angle section metal and having end extensions having bolt holes through which bolts 41 are placed to extend into one of a number of holes 42 formed in the respective arms 23 for bolting the upper edges of the panels 37 to the container. Because of the number of holes 42 in the arms and the nrnnber of holes 39 in the floors, the positioning of the panel 37 may be easily varied.

In operation, the container sections are loaded with sheets of glass 35, the front panels 37 are placed in position to compress the glass between the front and back panels of each section, and the container may then be lifted by its hooks 25, using a suitable crane, and placed upon a wood support platform 43 of a truck or railroad car. Once positioned for shipment, nails 44 are inserted through the holes 19 in the pads 18 to nail and thereby lock the container to the support platform. Upon reaching its destination, the nails are pried loose and the container may be lifted off the support floor and moved to the place where it is to be unloaded.

To expedite the removal of the rails 44 and the movement of the container, a tool 45 is provided (see FIGS. 6 and 7). The tool is in the form of a base member, 46 mounted upon rollers or wheels 47, and to which is connected a long curved bar or pole 48 terminating in a hand grip 49. An upwardly curved stud or pin 50 is secured to the front of the base 46.

In use, the tool is rolled up to the tongue 20 of the end rail 13 and its curved bar is tipped rearwa-rdly upon the rollers 47 until the stud 5t enters the hole 21 in the tongue. Then by further tipping it back, the bar 48 functions as a lever, pivoting about the wheels 47, to lift the end rail 13 upwardly and thus pull the nails free from the support floor. (See FIG. 7.) The tool can then be used as a dolly to pull the container upon the rollers 16 of the container and the rollers 47 of the tool. Thus the container may be rolled to the particular place where the glass is needed, the panels 37 may be removed, and the container may serve as a supply bin from which the sheets of glass may be removed one by one as needed.

This, invention may be further developed within the scope of the following claims. Accordingly, it is desired that the foregoing description be read as being merely illustrative of an Operative embodiment of this invention and not in a strictly limited sense.

I now claim:

1. A portable shipping container for transporting glass sheets, comprising a horizontally elongated, narrow floor having :horizontal front and rear edges and tipped downwardly at an acute angle to the horizontal from front to rear edges, with vertical end walls secured at the ends of the floor and an upright rear wall extending upwardly from the fioor and tipped rearwardly from its lower edge to its upper edge at an acute angle to the vertical with the end walls and rear wall joined together at their respective adjacent edges, so that glass sheets may be arranged upright on said floor with the lower edges of said glass sheets rested upon the floor and with the sheets tipped rearwardly against said rear wall; the upper edges of each end wall having an elongated bar secured thereto, the bars being arranged parallel to the slope of the floor and having a number of closely spaced holes arranged along their lengths, the holes extending from the upper to the lower surfaces of said elongated bars; two separate rows of holes formed in said floor, the holes of each row being closely spaced and the rows extending from the front edge towards the rear edge of the floor; a front panel of a size to fit between the side walls, with the lower edge thereof rested upon the floor and having horizontal extensions formed on the upper edge thereof arranged to rest upon the upper surfaces of said bars; a removable fastener means on each of said extensions to selectively fit into one of the holes in the respective bars to secure the panel to the bars, and a pair of downwardly extending pins secured to the panel at the lower edge thereof, each pin in alignment with one of said rows of holes, and each arranged to selectively fit into one of the holes of its respective row for securing the panel in spaced relationship to said rear wall for tightly holding glass sheets between the rear wall and the panel.

2. A construction as defined in claim 1, and said container having a pair of spaced rollers rotatably fastened to its bottom at one end of said floor, and a pair of spaced posts secured to its bottom at the opposite end of the floor, the posts terminating in flat, horizontally arranged plates having vertically arranged openings formed therethrough which nails may be inserted to nail the plates to a wooden support platform upon which the container may be placed.

3. A construction as defined in claim 2, and including a rigid bar secured to the lower edge of the container at the floor and bridging the space between said posts, said 'bar having a vertical hole formed in it to receive a prying tool for prying the bar upwardly to release the nails extending through said plate and for releasing said plates from the wood support platform, said prying tool having a lower end mounted upon a roller, a long handle pole connected to said roller and having an upwardly curved stud for fitting into said vertical hole and for lifting the rigid bar upwards upon pivoting of the handle pole about the tool roller and for towing the container upon the tool roller.

4. A construction as defined in claim 1, and including a second container identical to the first mentioned container, the two containers being arrangedback to back with their rear walls sloping upwardly towards each other and their respective floors being secured to a horizontally arranged framework for forming a single container uni-t.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,259,049 3/1918 Schumacher 2114l X 1,942,639 1/1934 Engler 2l410.5 X 2,005,099 6/1935 McLeod 21411 2,156,876 5/1939 Schull.

2,566,179 8/1951 Evan's 206-62 X 2,688,398 9/1954 Humphreys 20662 2,822,921 2/1958 Wilson 206--62 2,839,198 6/1958 Lefeure 21410.5 X 2,940,402 6/1960 Hansen 21141 X HUGO O. SCHULZ, Primary Examiner.

MORRIS TEMIN, Examiner. 

1. A PORTABLE SHIPPING CONTAINER FOR TRANSPORTING GLASS SHEETS, COMPRISING A HORIZONTALLY ELONGATED, NARROW FLOOR HAVING HORIZONTAL FRONT AND REAR EDGES AND TIPPED DOWNWARDLY AT AN ACUTE ANGLE TO THE HORIZONTAL FROM FRONT TO REAR EDGES, WITH VERTICAL ENDS WALLS SECURED AT THE ENDS OF THE FLOOR AND AN UPRIGHT REAR WALL EXTENDING UPWARDLY FROM THE FLOOR AND TIPPED REARWARDLY FROM ITS LOWER EDGE TO ITS UPPER EDGE AT AN ACUTE ANGLE TO THE VERTICAL WITH THE END WALLS AND REAR WALL JOINED TOGETHER AT THEIR RESPECTIVE ADJACENT EDGES, SO THAT GLASS SHEETS MAY BE ARRANGED UPRIGHT ON SAID FLOOR WITH THE LOWER EDGES OF SAID GLASS SHEETS RESTED UPON THE FLOOR AND WITH THE SHEETS TIPPED REARWARDLY AGAINST SAID REAR WALL; THE UPPER EDGES OF EACH END WALL HAVING AN ELONGATED BAR SECURED THERETO, THE BARS BEING ARRANGED PARALLEL TO THE SLOPE OF THE FLOOR AND HAVING A NUMBER OF CLOSELY SPACED HOLES ARRANGED ALONG THEIR LENGTHS, THE HOLES EXTENDING FROM THE UPPER TO THE LOWER SURFACES OF SAID ELONGATED BARS; TWO SEPARATE ROWS OF HOLES FORMED IN SAID FLOOR, THE HOLES OF EACH ROW BEING CLOSELY SPACED AND THE ROWS EXTENDING FROM THE FRONT EDGE TOWARDS THE REAR EDGE OF THE FLOOR; A FRONT PANEL OF A SIZE TO FIT BETWEEN THE SIDE WALLS, WITH THE LOWER EDGE THEREOF RESTED UPON THE FLOOR AND HAVING HORIZONTAL EXTENSIONS FORMED ON THE UPPER EDGE THEREOF ARRANGED TO REST UPON THE UPPER SURFACES OF SAID BARS; A REMOVABLE FASTENER MEANS ON EACH OF SAID EXTENSIONS TO SELECTIVELY FIT INTO ONE OF THE HOLES IN THE RESPECTIVE BARS TO SECURE THE PANEL TO THE BARS, AND A PAIR OF DOWNWARDLY EXTENDING PINS SECURED TO THE PANEL AT THE LOWER EDGE THEREOF, EACH PIN IN ALIGNMENT WITH ONE OF SAID ROWS OF HOLES, AND EACH ARRANGED TO SELECTIVELY FIT INTO ONE OF THE HOLES OF ITS RESPECTIVE ROW FOR SECURING THE PANEL IN SPACED RELATIONSHIP TO SAID REAR WALL FOR TIGHTLY HOLDING GLASS SHEETS BETWEEN THE REAR WALL AND THE PANEL. 